Trump’s trade war with China a net benefit for Fed rate watchers? Or a net negative for the economy in general, which the Fed says has cooled since September? Time will tell if the amped-up rhetoric and trade policy with China takes another victim.
On the upside, the committee noted that the unemployment rate “has declined” since the September meeting… However, the statement noted that the “growth of business fixed investment has moderated from its rapid pace earlier in the year.”